Police: Man crashes car into Rehoboth pizzeria

Tuesday

A driver allegedly operating under the influence crashed through the front of the Plaza Pizza restaurant after a brief chase with police on Sunday evening.

A driver allegedly operating under the influence crashed through the front of the Plaza Pizza restaurant after a brief chase with police on Sunday evening.

Police Officer Nicole Eastwood was on routine patrol when she observed a gray Lincoln sedan speeding eastbound on Winthrop Street. The driver was also “passing in a no passing zone,” Lt. Bruce Dube said.

Eastwood activated her overhead lights and the vehicle accelerated, swerving into the Plaza Pizza parking area.

Dube said the vehicle struck an outdoor dining area before also striking the building and shattering the restaurant’s front window.

Scott LaChapelle, who was working behind the counter at Plaza Pizza on Sunday, said his two patrons that evening were able to get away unscathed. The patrons, LaChapelle said, were sitting right beside the front window.

“You could hear the car screeching,” LaChapelle said, and added that the customers yelled an obscenity and were able to scurry out of the car’s way just prior to impact.

Following the crash, operator Richard Blomgren, 30, of Seekonk, was transported by Rehoboth Ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment of injuries.

Blomgren is facing police charges of operating under the influence, operating to endanger, failure to stop for police, speeding, passing in a no passing zone, and destruction of personal property.

Contact Casey Nilsson at cnilsson@tauntongazette.com

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